Dario Dall’Oste, NECOS

Premium Beauty News - You’re not the only one to have embarked on this adventure of ethnic and Halal products in particular?

Dario Dall’Oste - True, but we’re the only ones to have built a Halal certified factory! And that’s what makes the difference! But as the saying goes, “he who can do more can do less”! It is clear that this brand new plant, which is in the process of being GMP, Halal and ISO 9001 certified and that we have just commissioned in the outskirts of Crema in Italy enables us mostly to have a global market reach where there is a majority of consumers with dark skins or in any case, very coloured skins.

Imagine, for example, that in London “white people” only represent 40% of the population. Imagine that in thirty years the majority of the U.S. population will no longer consist of white people. Imagine that the 17 ASEAN countries are in the process of implementing a Halal certification, which should see the light in 2018. Don’t forget that more than 620 million people live in this area. Finally, imagine that 42% of Colombian women use between nine and twelve cosmetic products daily.

Premium Beauty News - Impressive indeed! Quite enough to make the mouths of cosmetic suppliers water.

Dario Dall’Oste - Yes, but it is far from simple! Obtaining the Halal certification for a production plant is an obstacle course. You almost need to start with a ‘white’ sheet of paper (if I can say so!). Everything must be certified. Ingredients and raw materials of course, but also cleaning products for the production equipment, not to mention the staff’s whole immediate working environment.

The 2500 m2 plant, which started running last July is part of a two-million-euro investment and produces per year about 70 tonnes of mascara, 70 tonnes of foundation, 19 tonnes of lipgloss and lipsticks and 75 tonnes of powders. We can offer a total of 126 certified Halal formulas, also complying with several much demanded marketing claims in “traditional” markets for natural and vegetarian products. We already have several agents representing us in our most strategic markets. And by the end of next year, we are planning to build a filling plant in Eastern Europe spanning on a 3000 m2 area.

Premium Beauty News - The growing number of mestizos obviously represents a great potential!

Dario Dall’Oste - This is why I must stress on the purposefully multiethnic positioning of Necos. The Indian Beauty market is growing by 20% annually and 50% of its population is under 30 years of age. In five years, Iran will be the fourth largest cosmetic market. Iranian women use one mascara every month and a lipstick every month and a half.

And any way a carefully devised formula development activity sticking to the needs of existing markets and not just to the ones this inexorable globalisation trend is going to offer us more and more in the future, allows us to have high performance products also for Caucasian skins, which enabled Necos to win its first customers in Italy, UK, Eastern Europe and Australia.